Latest news with #CoventryFestival
BBC News
01-07-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Godiva Festival brings back local talent stage after cash boost
A third stage to showcase more local musicians will return to a Coventry music festival, enabling it to also celebrate its twin city of Kingston, Cov ConneX Kingston Stage will be back at the Godiva Festival after organisers secured funding worth almost £30,000 from National Lottery through Arts Council 40 city-based artists will take to the stage over the weekend with styles ranging from rap, grime, afrobeat and reggae to DJs and MCs, all about celebrating local inspiration alongside the sounds of Abdul Salam Khan said the stage's return will add "something extra special and I know it will be a big attraction for all music lovers". The headliners this year have been confirmed as Marc Almond, Clean Bandit and Ocean Colour in Coventry's War Memorial Park the council-organised festival runs from Friday until Sunday.A second stage, called the Cov Stage, will also host local Naeem Akhtar described Coventry as a "great musical city.""Godiva is loved by so many, and with the music stages supported by a host of other attractions for families and visitors of all ages, it's going to be another memorable weekend for the city," he said. Follow BBC Coventry & Warwickshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
BBC News
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Band leader disappointed at 'paltry' Godiva Festival fee offer
A musician has said he is disappointed at being offered only a "very small fee" and not being booked for a Coventry Siddiqui, manager of Impact Steel Band, said he was approached by Coventry City Council to perform on two days at the Godiva Festival, but after sending over the band's rates and receiving a smaller offer, the band was dropped completely."The fee that they were offering was paltry," he said. It was a very, very small fee - but they wanted my full band… the whole shebang."The council said it regularly liaised with more artists than it booked as availability and scheduling conflicts were common, adding supporting local talent was a key priority. The authority added while performers' costs "can be one of the many elements in planning, in this particular case, the artist was unable to perform at the time slot available, which unfortunately meant we couldn't include them in the final line-up". However, Mr Siddiqui said the band, which features 10 to 12 musicians, was available for both in Coventry's War Memorial Park the festival runs from 4 to 6 March the authority announced ticket prices for 2025 would be frozen, and earlier this year injected £330,000 into the event to cover a shortfall for this year's show. 'Fair pay' He said it was a lot to expect local artists to just be "grateful and happy that we are offering you a slot in such a big event". "You want to just get a fair pay," he said. He added the musicians recently played in the Caribbean and performed "all over the country at very high-profile events". The band had played at the festival years before, when it was a free event, said Mr Siddiqui."We love the Godiva, we would love to perform in our home town, it's our city and we're super proud of being in our city," said Mr council added decisions were made based on a number of factors, including availability, how an act fits into the programme and logistical considerations."We continue to value and support the city's local talent and look forward to seeing that in action at this year's festival," it added. Follow BBC Coventry & Warwickshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
